Page 410 of Devil’s Disciples

Despite my lack of effort, we eventually finished sorting. After counting and re-counting the money, Baker entered it in the books.

“Seven hundred and eighty grand is a damned nice bank job,” he said.

“Agreed,” I said.

Tito patted Ally on the shoulder. “Good job on that vault.”

“Thank you.”

Reno followed with a congratulatory remark regarding her quick thinking when it came to the cop. We all shared a laugh about him thinking a college cheerleader was flirting with him. When the laughing and storytelling ended, it was three thirty in the morning.

Exhausted, Baker resigned to his upstairs loft.

The rest of us meandered to the elevator as a group.

In its normal snails-like pace, the elevator descended to the basement. Not one word was spoken. After the doors opened, Cash stepped out and turned around.

“I appreciate you not telling Baker what happened,” he said, directing his comment to Ally. “And, I’ll apologize for what I said back at the bank. But I don’t have to respect you.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Respect’s earned, and you haven’t done shit to earn it. That’s just how shit works with me.”

“I’m fine with that,” she said. “Now, apologize.”

His eyes narrowed. “I just did.”

“No. You didn’t,” she insisted. “You said, ‘I’ll apologize for what I said back at the bank.’ So, apologize. After you do, I’ll consider this squashed.”

He looked at each of us and then at Ally. “Are you fucking serious?”

“As serious as a dose of dick cancer,” she deadpanned.

After digesting her response, he forced a sigh. “I’m sorry for calling you a bitch.”

“Apology accepted.” She spread her arms open wide. “Gimme a hug.”

With reluctance, Cash hugged her.

He broke the embrace and stomped to his bike, obviously mad about the entire situation. After bidding farewell to Reno and Tito, Ally and I walked to the SUV.

I reached for the door handle and paused before opening it. “You took his wallet, didn’t you?”

She peered over the hood. “Sure did.”

Ally planned everything she did. She didn’t take Cash’s wallet out of spite, or for bragging rights. There was a reason behind it.

“Why?” I asked.

Her mouth twisted into a smirk. “You’ll see.”

151

Ally

A week had passed since our bank job, and the situation with Cash hadn’t changed. I’d given him his wallet back, claiming that he’d dropped it in the back seat of the SUV. I didn’t expect the gesture to change anything, but I hoped my continued existence would prompt him to slowly begin treating me with respect.

I wasn’t so lucky. Nothing had changed yet, anyway. Although I tried not to express my frustrations around the other men, Goose knew how I felt. Talking about it in bed on a Sunday morning would ensure I could make it through another week without doing or saying anything I’d later regret.

I rolled to my side. “There’s a difference between respecting someone and treating someone with respect. A person doesn’t have to respect me to treat me respectfully. My problem with Cash is that he does neither. I’ll earn his respect, one of these days. Until then, I wish he’d stop being a dick.”

“I understand the respect thing,” Goose said. “Believe me. I can like someone and not respect them. Hell, I could be friends with them, for that matter, and still not respect them. But I’ll always treat them with respect.”